GOOD (FOR YOU) DEEDS

HOW HELPING OTHERS HELPS YOU.

- MARY ANNE DUNKIN

Stacy Courtnay was in her 20s when rheumatoid arthritis (RA) turned her life upside down. The experience, she says, has made her more compassionate, sensitive to others’ needs.

“People call me the casserole queen, because I’m always taking food to people,” says Courtney, now 42 years old. An Arthritis Foundation advocate, she’s always happy to lend a hand to a friend or stranger. “It always makes me feel good,” she says.

Altruism Eases Pain

Research shows that helping others may be one of the best things you can do to help yourself.

A series of studies published in 2019 in the